Ex-emmerdale star apologises over Celebrity Big Brother punch claims

Former Emmerdale star Roxanne Pallett has apologised and said she “got it wrong” after she claimed actor Ryan Thomas punched her in the Celebrity Big Brother house.

The actress previously alleged Thomas “punched me like a boxer would punch a bag”, but has now said she could see his actions were not deliberate.

In her first interview after quitting the reality show on Saturday, Pallett told Channel 5’s Jeremy Vine: “At the time it hurt. But when I looked back on that footage as soon as I left the house – the first thing I did was view that clip – and I got it wrong, I really got it wrong.

“After it happened I just felt like, I don’t know how to 0 Roxanne Pallet has apologised to Ryan Thomas

explain … my mind ran away with me. I’m a sensitive person. My friends and family can vow to that. Everything in that house was so heightened, a look, a comment, an action.

“Your insecurities are heightened, your sensitivities. The only thing I can explain is it was, in the moment, it felt worse than it was. I can’t prove a feeling. I can’t show you a feeling. It was the word ‘deliberately’ that I regret.”

Coronation Street star Thomas was left in tears after Pallett claimed he hurt her by punching her, which many viewers defended as merely play fighting. She said: “I massively apologise to not just Ryan, but to his family and friends and his fans and every single person who watched that and completely and justifiably saw an over-reaction to what wasn’t a malicious act.

“In that moment, because I am sensitive and I was emotional, I mistook what was playful.

“He did apologise and he did say his ring caught me. It was the word ‘deliberate’ that I regret because I doubted his intention and there was no malicious intention behind that.”